Of Love and Happiness
by Halgerd
Summary: A prequel to "A Lily Among Lilies". James and Lily have some alone time on the Hogwarts grounds. Oh so lemony, would you expect anything less?


Of Love and Happiness

James and Lily were running. They had been caught snogging in a hallway by a 5th year prefect, and rather than suffer any more embarrassment (they were after all- Head Boy and Head Girl) they decided to leave the castle in search of a more private location. These late night jaunts were becoming quite common, and the once at odds pair had been almost inseparable for the last 6 months or so. However, they had never been caught before and to Lily's surprise she was flush with excitement.

"Oh _Merlin_", she giggled once they were far beyond earshot of that pesky fifth year and almost at the main doors, "that was a close one, eh Potter?"

"Well," he panted, "its not really a _close one_ if we get caught. More of a 'thank goodness that fifth year girl was too befuddled to get a good look at us before we bolted' type of situation."

"Touché." Lily smiled up at him, and realized that they were still holding hands. Now that they were no longer running it seemed kind of silly, so she made to let go but James held on firmer and said quietly 'lets go for a walk outside'. She agreed heartily, and so they went hand in hand into the night. And what a night it was: warm but not humid, breezy, and a beautiful full moon that cast its light all over the ground. As they gazed up at this moonlight, both James and Lily thought fleetingly if Remus was alright during his transformation in the Shrieking Shack.

As they walked in a comfortable silence around the grounds, James Potter realized that he has never been happier in his life. Despite Dumbledore's insistence that there were 'dark and dangerous' times ahead, James simply could not see past the beautiful girl who was now such a part of his life. He had wanted her for _so long_; and now, as if by some miracle, here she was, with him. It was as if he could not open his eyes for fear she would vanish and he would have to return to watching her from afar and picking arguments with her just so he could talk to her.

"James?" Lily asked, smiling. "What on _earth_ is going on in that head of yours?" It occurred to him that he had been daydreaming and not listening and he felt slightly guilty as he said, "Sorry Lily. I was just thinking about how beautiful and wonderful you are, I became distracted."

It was her turn to blush, her face turning as auburn as her hair. He never ceased to amaze her with his honesty, good or bad.

"Lets go see the flower beds, okay? They're my favorite." Lily said this quickly, to change the subject, and she grabbed James's hand and led them to the back of the grounds where the flowerbeds were located.

_It is truly a beautiful night_. Lily thought to herself as they continued to walk hand in hand. She was as surprised as James at the turn of events in their relationship this year. She had always fancied him, but he made things so _difficult _for her. All the arguments and teasing, it was as if he made it his mission to pester her. Only now, she realized, was he merely trying to get her attention. _Honestly, boys can be so barmy._ And then there was Severus. Severus _detested_ James, and now Severus was drifting further and further away and she could not tell if it was solely because of James or because he seemed to be falling heavily into the Dark Arts. She felt so conflicted, with on one hand the loss of her best friend and on the other this wonderful boy who had whisked down into her life and made her feel special and loved.

She must have been concentrating hard on her thoughts because they reached the gardens without Lily noticing and it wasn't until James stopped and looked at her inquisitively that she even suspected she had been acting strangely.

"It would seem that we both have a lot on our minds tonight." James smiled and kissed her forehead.

"I suppose so," Lily said, still frowning with thought, "it's just hard to shut it all out sometimes, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. Especially now with everything Dumbledore says is happening, makes everything seem a bit too… _real_ sometimes. Like its official we aren't kids anymore." He chuckled at this last bit, and gave Lily another quick kiss. He was not thinking about anything too serious, only the way Lily's skin glowed in the moonlight, but he knew she had a lot on her mind.

"Do you want to talk about it Lily?" he asked, grasping both of her hands in his tightly.

She thought about it for a little while, but then said 'no'. "I don't want to talk about anything tonight. It's too beautiful for seriousness, we undervalue nature with our jabber."

"Well said." James laughed. "But are you sure? Because you look like you're attempting to recite verbatim the entire length of _Hogwarts: A History_."

It was Lily's turn to laugh. She swatted at him lightly and said, "Oh please. As if I could even get through _reading_ it, let alone _memorizing_ it. No, I have decided to we have had enough thought on the grim for the evening." She said it with a tone of finality, and James understood that she did not want to discuss it any further. This was perfectly fine with him. As much as he wanted to know everything about Lily, he couldn't stop staring at her, and that wouldn't be the ideal situation for active listening. Besides, he had a much better idea for how they could be spending this evening together.

"Excellent." James said as he kissed her full on the mouth. It was a kiss born of association, they had become so comfortable with one another these past months that it was as if he'd been kissing Lily all his life, rather than merely imagining he had been.

They continued to kiss beside the flowerbeds, simply two young people in the moonlight, when Lily suddenly broke their kiss and stood back from James.

"Is everything alright?" James asked, curious as to why she had stopped.

"Oh, everything is wonderful. I just had a thought, and then a question to go with that thought."

James laughed. "A _thought!?!_ Well, it better not have been of a serious nature because according to the Head Girl we are to 'undervaluing nature with our jabber'."

"Well," Lily blushed and looked at her feet, "it _is_ serious, but…not in the same way. Not…serious in a _bad_ way, serious in a _good_ way."

James felt a rush of excitement from the pit of his stomach. He had a feeling he knew what she was driving at and was practically buzzing with exhilaration.

"Oh," he said casually, attempting to hide his enthusiasm, "and what would this serious thought be?"

"Well," she looked up at him smiling, still blushing but meeting his gaze, "I thought, since it was such a beautiful night and all, that… that we could make love…here…by the flowers." Lily didn't know why she said it, it felt right and that's all she knew. She was overcome with feeling and she thought that James wanted this as much as she.

James was frankly speechless. He had guessed this is what Lily had in mind, but having actually heard the words, he was frozen in place. He stood there, staring at her for what was entirely too long before he managed to choke out, "what was the question?"

"Hmm?" Lily responded. She was bewildered, and slightly hurt. She didn't understand why James was just _standing_ there. Surely he wasn't rejecting her?

"You said you had a thought and a question. You…you've told me the thought, but what was the question?" he squeaked out, still staring at Lily as she looked befuddled back at him.

"Oh," she said, now clearly embarrassed at what she had suggested, "my question was 'how much trouble would the Head Girl and Boy be in if they were caught making love in the moonlight in the flowerbeds?' Silly really…" she trailed off, mortified. _Stupid. Stupid. Stupid._ She chanted to herself, unable to see how she would ever recover from this embarrassment.

"Probably a lot… of trouble, that is." James continued to stare at the ground, unable to look at Lily. He chanced a glance and saw that Lily too was looking at her shoes, except he thought he could see tears welling up in her eyes. Suddenly, he snapped out of his immobile state. He embraced her, held her tightly to him, stroked her hair and whispered into her ear, "I think that is a wonderful idea."

Lily looked up at him, smiling, her eyes questioning. "Really? You're not just saying that because I was going to cry?"

"Lily," he took a deep breath in and looked into her beautiful green eyes, "I have wanted this for a very long time. You just…startled me with your…enthusiasm. That's all. I assure you. You are very much the center of my hearts desire."

Lily smiled widely, exposing her perfect white teeth. She had a look of triumph on her face. "See," she whispered, planting kisses on James's face, eyes and neck, "I told you it was a good thought."

"A very good thought." James replied as he went to remove Lily's cloak. Neither of them could fully grasp what was happening, they were drunk with love and happiness and moonlight. As her cloak dropped to the floor and he planted kisses along her neck and collarbone, she was furiously attempting to remove his cloak. As it dropped to the floor and lay beside hers, their kisses grew more passionate.

He made to remove her shirt and she attempted to undo his shirt buttons. There will little finesse in their movements, but there was eagerness by both parties that put a sense of excitement in the air. Her shirt dropped to the floor along with his and he buried his face in her breasts, kissing her nipples tenderly. Lily sighed with contentment, and clutched James's hair. He kissed a pathway back up to her lips, which were swollen from their efforts. He reached down to undo the buttons on her skirt, but Lily stopped his hand. A look of concern crossed James's face, but Lily smiled up at him.

"Let me," she said with a slight giggle, "its got far too many buttons and I'm rather fond of this skirt—I don't want you mucking it up". James gave her a mock look if indignation, but let her unclasp the skirt herself. She cast it off into their growing pile of clothes and revealed a pair of very Lily like knickers underneath. Ironically, they had a floral pattern on them, which James found rather amusing.

"What?" she questioned. "Not like what you see?" There was an undertone of seriousness in her voice, which James was confounded by. As if she could ever think he would not want her.

"Oh," he said, embracing her and kissing her full on the lips, "I merely found your floral undergarments amusing considering you are named after Flora. I _love_ what I see, and don't you ever forget it." Lily kissed him back with fervor, inflamed by his words, wanting him more than ever, feeling herself respond to his body.

She made to remove his pants, wanting to feel him closer to him, wanting to see all of him. However, his belt was proving even trickier than her skirt and unfortunately, she was making a mess of her grand plans for seduction.

James paused and laughed softly. "Here," he said, "let me." He stepped back from her and undid his belt, removing his pants and boxers and discarding them on the floor. He was now completely naked; bare in front of the women he desperately loved. Lily watched with a slight embarrassment and looked at the ground once again as soon as he was naked. Judging her reaction, a thought suddenly occurred to James.

"Lily," he asked, "have you ever done this before?" He wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer, and instantly regretted asking the question.

"Um…well, no…"she trailed off and looked at her feet. "I'm just…nervous that's all." She laughed and looked up into his eyes.

James instantly closed the space between them and held her tightly. They stood like that, embracing in the moonlight, for what seemed like forever until Lily once again broke them apart. She took a step back and quickly removed her bra and her knickers before she could talk herself out of it. Now she was naked too, and she felt a sudden thrill. This was wonderfully, delightfully indecent.

"Beautiful". James said, taking in her body, a body that only he had seen like this. He felt as if she was finally letting him into her world, and he could have wept with the wonder and awe that filled him.

"You're no hag yourself." She retorted, holding both of his hands, looking at his body tentatively, admiring how handsome he really was. She knew a million girls at Hogwarts would kill to be in the position she was now, but she didn't care about that. She didn't want him because he was popular or smart or good at quidditch. She wanted him because he was _good_. He was a good man, and she loved him very much.

They lay down on the grass and James pulled Lily beside him so that they were facing one another. They began to kiss, hesitatingly at first but then with a renewed eagerness. They explored one another's bodies, feeling and touching, and it was as if they had always been like this, as if the last six years of fighting and bickering had never happened.

James moved his hands in between Lily's legs, stroking gently as his other hand toyed with her breasts. She responded eagerly to his touch, sighing and gasping, overwhelmed at the way he was making her feel. However, although what he was doing felt good, wonderful even, she was getting anxious, and James could sense it. She was becoming more defended, tensing at his more adventurous advances. He removed his hands and laid on his back, panting heavily, but concerned that Lily did not want him to go any further. Lily sat up and pulled her knees into her chest. James rolled on his side and propped himself up on one elbow, looking at Lily.

"I love you," he whispered, "I always have". He smiled up at her; of course it was nothing but the truth, but he was delighted to see the happiness that spread over Lily's face.

"I know," she whispered back, "I love you too." He reached out, grabbed her hand, brought it to his mouth and kissed it tenderly. He sat up beside her and but his arm around her, using his other arm to lightly stroke her back.

"Lily, are you sure this is what you want? We don't have to do this now, I won't be mad. It's alright, I promise." He faced her, tilted his forehead so it was up against hers, and pushed a strand of her beautiful auburn hair back behind her ear.

"I love you. I want this, more than anything. I'm just scared that's all." She smiled weakly at him. "I'm one hundred percent positive. I've thought about this a lot you know…" she flushed and smiled wider.

"Oh, have you? Naughty minx. I bet you do this to all the boys."

Lily playfully swatted him. "Oh please, just shut up and kiss me you prat."

James did as he was told, uniting his lips with hers and slowly moving their bodies back onto the cool spring grass beside the fragrant flower beds. He rolled her underneath him so that he was on top of her with her body flush against him. She could feel him, hard, pressing against her thigh. It aroused her further, knowing that a man like James found her attractive. She wanted him inside of her, wanted to feel him move within her, but she was still nervous.

James knew well enough to take things slowly. He touched and teased her, stroking her, making her cry out, making absolutely sure that she was ready for him. He sucked on her breasts, making her moan with pleasure. He planted kisses all over her body, kissing and sucking, making her feel wanted, making her feel loved.

After a while James could see that Lily was losing control, and to be frank, he did not think he could continue on simply teasing her for much longer.

"James," she panted, "I'm ready". He propped himself up on his elbows and kissed her deeply. To his surprise she thrust her tongue in mouth, which thrilled him tremendously. She reached down between them and sheepishly grasped him, positioning him, letting him know that she wanted him, wanted him badly, wanted him _now._

Then all of a sudden, he made them one. Lily was overwhelmed with emotion, the vision of James sliding into her with the moonlight in full force behind him was one that she knew she would never forget. It hurt, but the pain was fleeting and soon she simply felt miraculously filled, whole, as if her whole life she had been empty and she had never realized.

"Oh, _James_." She panted heavily as he moved in and out of her, gently, skillfully, not wanting her to feel any unnecessary discomfort.

James had his eyes closed, shut tight with happiness and concentration. He had never felt so wonderful in his life. No quidditch victory… no happy memory… nothing was as wonderful as this. He was losing control quickly, becoming undone by Lily's cries of pleasure intermingled with his own. Before long he came, spilling himself inside her and collapsing on top of her.

They lay there, connected, wrapped into one another's arms. James whispered something into Lily's ear but she didn't quite catch it.

"Hmm?" she asked, blissful, holding James tight and burying her head into his dark unruly hair.

"I said, that you are truly a Lily among the Lilies." James whispered, kissing the side of her face.

Lily giggled and took James's face into her hands. She kissed him deeply, and felt him stir inside of her. She smiled, amused, and once again thrust her tongue inside of his mouth.

However, all of a sudden they heard a booming voice and the bark of a dog.

"What's all this racket now?" *bark* Hagrid boomed as he headed towards the flowerbeds across the grounds.

"Oh _Merlin!_" said James as he rolled off of Lily, slipping out of her and wildly grasping around for their clothing.

"There's no _time_ James! He's almost _here!_ Just _run!_" She a random stack of clothing (as did James) and off the two of them ran, naked as the day they were born, into the forest.

When they finally caught their breath they were about ten yards or so into the forest. Hagrid hadn't followed them, but it occurred to Lily that they were still _naked_ in the _forest_. In the middle of the night. However, after realizing this fact Lily suddenly burst into laughter, barely able to contain herself. James, on the other hand, did not see what was so funny, and he said as much to Lily.

"What's so _funny_?" Lily asked in between giggles. "Can you imagine how _hysterical _this would look to an outsider? Head girl and boy frolicking around the forbidden forest like_ wood nymphs_ or something!"

James was reluctant to see the funny side of this situation, but he agreed she had a point. He smiled guiltily at her and said, "lets see what clothes we grabbed, we can go back for the rest later".

They had managed to grab both cloaks, James's boxers and Lily's shirt but had left Lily's underclothes, James shirt and pants, Lily's skirt and _both_ their Head Girl and Boy badges had been left behind. All in all, pretty disappointing, truth to be told. But they had enough clothing to get back to the castle, and that's what was important. They put on their cloaks and what little other clothing they had and made themselves look more or less presentable. With their cloaks wrapped very tightly around them they emerged from the forest, hoping that no one noticed.

As they headed back to the castle, they chanced a quick walk past the flowerbeds, but they didn't notice their clothing, which was troublesome. However, it was dark, so they might just not have been able to see it. As they entered the Gryffindor common room and made to go up to their separate dorms, James suddenly pulled Lily to him and kissed her passionately. Her cloak opened and he ran his hands up and down her bare sides, enjoying the feel of her warm skin.

"I love you Lily Evans." He said as he kissed the end of her nose.

"I love you too James Potter." She smiled and kissed him quickly on the lips. "However, its rather late and I feel, all told, we have had quite enough excitement for one night. So, that being said, next time," she flushed at this, "we will have to go somewhere slightly less…visible."

"Agreed." James replied. He embraced her one more time, then headed up to the boys dorm as she headed up to the girls.

As he entered the dormitory, he saw that everyone was asleep except Sirius, who was reading on his bed.

"Oh, hey mate. Shagged Evans did you?" He asked nonchallantly, smiling, showing all of his teeth. James was speechless, but he wasn't surprised. If anyone had a natural talent for guessing such things, it was Sirius Black.

"How did you know?" James asked, flopping himself on his bed, exhausted with happiness.

"Well, first of all, you're not wearing pants or a shirt under that cloak. Secondly, some third year brought a bundle up here, said that Hagrid sent it to the room. I didn't know who it was for so I just opened it… and I believe that is your shirt…and Lily's knickers."

James was mortified. On one hand, this meant that he and Lily were probably not in any trouble. However, on the other hand, it meant that Hagrid, and most likely Dumbledore, were aware of his and Lily's antics and this served as a gentle warning to not be caught again.

"Wait… how did you know they were Lily's knickers?" James was curious about this. Of course, Sirius had probably seen his share, but he was wondering how he would know what Lily's knickers looked like.

"Well I sort of just assumed, there's also a Head Girl and Head Boy badge in there…"

*****

The next day in the common room James snuck Lily the parcel that contained her clothes.

"How did you get these?" Lily asked curiously.

"Well…I went back to get them… they were still there early this morning." James didn't mean to lie to Lily, but last night was so special, he figured he would save her the embarrassment and say that the clothes were still there. Besides, they weren't in trouble, he didn't want to spoil the perfection that was last evening.

"Oh…excellent!" Lily said cheerfully. She smiled at him, and he barely heard anything else she said that morning. The sun was shining through the windows illuminating her auburn hair, and she was so beautiful to him at that moment that he simply sat and stared, and stared, and stared…


End file.
